Author: Heidi Lee (Page 83 of 96)

Sometimes, you just need to get out of town. I work from my home which makes it hard to pull away. This weekend, I just needed to get out and, apparently, so did Dave. When he came up to me and said, “I am not teaching Friday. Do we have any plans for the weekend?” I knew just what he was thinking. Road Trip!

Although tamed down and classed up, we hit the road with all the same zeal of a college road trip. Arguably, there are few better places for road trippin’ than Arizona which is partly why we live here. This time, we pointed south to a small part of Arizona we had yet to explore but had heard a lot about, Sonoita and its wine country.

Sonoita is about a 90 minute drive south of Tucson, east on I-10 and then south on highway 83 into town.  Follow the road along into Elgin and from there you can make a loop through 10 or so wineries for tastings and buying.

The area around Sonoita (pronounced So-noy-ta; although it’s so much prettier when pronounced So-no-ee-ta), looks a lot like Montana with its grassy plains and tall mountains all around. The fact that they were snow capped added to the similarity. I grew up near Montana, so it was like a road trip of youth.

If you’ve ever been to Napa or Sonoma on a wine tasting trip, this is different.  It’s a good difference, though, if you open your desert eye. It’s an Arizona difference – a little rugged, straight forward, good value and pleasing to the taste buds. 

Just so you know, I adore wine but don’t really know a whole lot about it. I know what I like and that’s okay with me. If someone pours me something that they think I’ll like, and they are correct, it makes me very happy and makes them a connoisseur. 

We entered the small oasis of Elgin with its grapevines dotting the landscape and the very unique wineries that offer up some very interesting wines.  Tastings are generally Friday through Sunday beginning around 11 a.m to 4 p.m.  It takes about half a day to visit a majority of the wineries. Bring a light snack because restaurants are scarce on the loop. When you are comfortably numb, head back to Sonoita and another great Arizona story, The Steak Out.

What started as The Sonoita General Mercantile in the 1940’s was added onto in the 1970’s with The Steak Out Restaurant and labeled the areas ‘last chance to boogie’ for miles around.  Along with what must have been a really great place to party, The Steak Out gained notoriety through their fully stocked bar, live country music and, of course, their steaks. This is cowboy country, folks. Give me a bone-in rib eye grilled on an open mesquite fire with a big ole baked potato, a glass or two of the local wine; and I am one happy girl. It’s a fun joint, and you can fill up your car at the same time.

As far as the wine goes, we had a great time stopping in all of the spots on the map. The wineries ranged from a shed heated by a wood burning stove to a gorgeous, new suburban style home. Revel in the simplicity and be patient with the wines and you will find a gem. Most of the wineries only grow on 20 or so acres and are expanding at about an acre a year. For such small properties, they hedge their bet by growing a wide variety of grapes. As a result, there is not much of a yield, so they supplement with juices imported from CA. It is a young industry, but from what I understand there is real potential here.

I bought a bottle of this really yummy Tempranillo from Kief-Joshua Vineyards.  I’m sure it will taste gorgeous with the steaks I’m making this weekend.  Anybody got any mesquite chips?

The Arizona Wine Growers Association has more on Arizona wines. Click here to learn more.

To Shop for Wines Online Click Here

Check out the Steak Out Restaurant by Clicking Here

It’s the most important meal of the day. I make it diligently for my family every morning, Monday through Friday while I force myself to eat some cereal or at least a yogurt. That way I don’t power gorge an entire bag of Doritos at 11:00 a.m. 

Still, I’m a lunch & dinner kind of gal, aside from bacon that is, and I’m not a real fan of breakfast foods. So, what the heck is it about the Saturday morning feast that changes the whole paradigm?

Late nights and tight tummies can certainly be a factor, but for the most part, Saturday morning breakfast is a way to hit the brakes so I don’t drop directly into work mode. When you own your own business, that work ethic thing chases you down 24/7.  Right now, I allow myself one day off per week, and I find that if I begin that day with someone else making me breakfast AND cleaning it up, things tend to remain at a very low simmer. As I sit with my family and linger over another cup of coffee, trade sections of the paper, and listen to my daughters’ vibrant chatter; I allow myself to relax.

I’ve lived a lot of places and every place had that perfect breakfast joint. In Singapore, it was the hawker center at the bottom of the street with warm BBQ’d buns and hot chicken soup. Dallas had a little diner that served the best chicken fried steak with homemade gravy and biscuits while in Seattle was Hector’s in Kirkland a place that converted from the Friday night bar to the Saturday breakfast joint. It was convenient because I needed to stop by and pick up my purse anyway.  Here in Arizona, I’ve gone for variety and adventure. 

We’ve got our usuals which include the Deer Valley Airport (7^th Avenue and Deer Valley) with all those cool little Pipers and Cessna’s doing touch-and-goes for my entertainement while I dine down on some tasty huevos rancheros.  We also really like Hot Bagels & Deli off of 59^th Ave. and Behrend where the bread is made fresh every morning and comes with some of the best whipped cream cheese in town. They also do bagel sandwiches to die for on a flat top no less!

So, this week we were trying to decide on a good joint to hit, took that leap of faith called Yelp, and found our new favorite joint: Ronnie’s Café. 

It’s a tiny place on the SW corner of 43^rd Ave. and Cactus. The wobbly sign by the road touted steak and eggs for $5.99. There was a line out the door (always a good sign), and I peeked my head in to see what’s what.

People are happily waiting for a table and loads of brick-a-brack covers the walls. The gal behind the counter puts the toast down while the cashier addresses the person on the phone as “honey” and gently tells her to head about 90 blocks west and 12 blocks north to find the joint.

We were seated, ordered beverages and asked our waitress, “What’s good.”

“All of it, of course,” but she wholeheartedly pushes those steak and eggs and the strawberry French toast. The table is dressed in flowery oil cloth and you can purchase hand painted coffee cups off the wall for $3.25. 

Sammie, ever the carnivore, gets the steak with “eggs lookin’ right at ya.” Dave orders a Greek Omelet. And for me, it’s a bowl of chili with onions and cheese, two eggs over easy and a side of biscuits. Once the plates are taken away, we linger over another cup of coffee, talk about the news and (get this) listen to each other. 

The food was good and well worth the wait and taking the chance on a new place. Patrons come and go. Entire families move 3 or 4 tables together and don’t require menus. Babies cry and giggle. “Order Up” is heard from the counter, and a young lady and her boyfriend sit down near us and talk about the long drive from across town. 

Ronnie’s Café, it’s a new Lee family favorite.  Ain’t nothin’ like a good breakfast joint.